Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Chapter 1 Phytoplankton
- Chapter 2 Entrainment and distribution in the pelagic
- Chapter 3 Photosynthesis and carbon acquisition in phytoplankton
- Chapter 4 Nutrient uptake and assimilation in phytoplankton
- Chapter 5 Growth and replication of phytoplankton
- Chapter 6 Mortality and loss processes in phytoplankton
- Chapter 7 Community assembly in the plankton: pattern, process and dynamics
- Chapter 8 Phytoplankton ecology and aquatic ecosystems: mechanisms and management
- Glossary
- Units, symbols and abbreviations
- References
- Index to lakes, rivers and seas
- Index to genera and species of phytoplankton
- Index to genera and species of other organisms
- General index
Chapter 3 - Photosynthesis and carbon acquisition in phytoplankton
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 August 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- Chapter 1 Phytoplankton
- Chapter 2 Entrainment and distribution in the pelagic
- Chapter 3 Photosynthesis and carbon acquisition in phytoplankton
- Chapter 4 Nutrient uptake and assimilation in phytoplankton
- Chapter 5 Growth and replication of phytoplankton
- Chapter 6 Mortality and loss processes in phytoplankton
- Chapter 7 Community assembly in the plankton: pattern, process and dynamics
- Chapter 8 Phytoplankton ecology and aquatic ecosystems: mechanisms and management
- Glossary
- Units, symbols and abbreviations
- References
- Index to lakes, rivers and seas
- Index to genera and species of phytoplankton
- Index to genera and species of other organisms
- General index
Summary
Introduction
The first aim of this chapter is to summarise the biochemical basis of photosynthesis in planktic algae and to review the physiological sensitivities of carbon fixation and assimilation under the environmental conditions experienced by natural populations of phytoplankton. These fundamental aspects of autotrophy are plainly relevant to the dynamics and population ecology of individual algal species, functioning within the constraints set by temperature and by the natural fluxes of light energy and inorganic carbon. They are also relevant to the function of entire pelagic systems as, frequently, they furnish the major source of energy, in the form of reduced carbon, to heterotrophic consumers. The yields of fish, birds and mammals in aquatic systems are ultimately related to the harvestable and assimilable sources of carbon bonds. In turn, the energy and resource fluxes through the entire biosphere are greatly influenced by pelagic primary producers, impinging on the gaseous composition of the atmosphere and the heat balance of the whole planet.
Here, we shall be concerned with events at the population, community and ecosystem levels. However, it is necessary to emphasise at the start of the chapter that recent advances in understanding of planetary carbon stores and fluxes assist our appreciation of the relative global importance of aquatic photosynthesis. To those biologists of my generation brought up with the exclusive axiom that animals derive their energy by respiring (oxidising) the carbohydrates and proteins manufactured (reduced) by photosynthesising plants, the presently perceived realities of aquatic-reductant fluxes may seem quite counter-intuitive.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Ecology of Phytoplankton , pp. 93 - 144Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2006
- 3
- Cited by